A devoted (obsessed) 18 year old girl's views on all-things Yankees, and other random thoughts

Results tagged ‘ Mark Teixeira ’

Last night’s win was a fun one, and it became even more perfect later on. This team of mine looks pretty good, and there is still so much that hasn’t clicked for them yet. It’s comforting to know that they can win even if everything isn’t perfect.

But last night was as perfect a game as I’ve seen in awhile. My throat still feels all scratchy from screaming so much. I just couldn’t contain myself.

Highlights…highlights…where to begin! For a 15-3 blowout, it was actually a very exciting game all the way through. CC Sabathia was perfect through 3.2 innings before allowing a 2-out single to Derrek Lee. It was the best game CC has pitched so far this year, and he finally has a “W” to show for it. Sabathia, who was feeling kind of flu-ish, pitched 8 innings and struck out 7. All of his pitches were working, and the only inning he struggled in was the 7th, where Adam Jones hit a 3-run homer.

Offensively, the Yankees jumped right out of the gate and never looked back. They scored three runs in the first, and Derek Jeter started things off with a single. I’m doing a debate on whether or not “Jeter is done.” I know he has been slumping but I don’t think it is time to give up on the guy. If anyone agrees, I’d appreciate your vote at http://fanvsfan.com/claims/jeter-is-done

So in the first, Mark Teixeira doubled. For some reason, the Orioles little second baseman, Robert Andino, decided to be obnoxious. Teixeira slid hard because, naturally, he wanted to make it safely. Well I guess Andino didn’t like the way he slid. He started to try and push him off the bag so he could tag him out. Well, my Mark didn’t let the little squirt push him around: he stood up, and glared down at the kid. They exchanged a few words, and I was afraid I was going to see a fight break out. I wasn’t worried about Mark doing it, but Andino. Luckily, nothing happened.

LOL someone’s cranky -^

Then A-Rod doubled in 2 runs and Cano drove in A-Rod with a single. 3-0. And Andino shut up.

The Yankees doubled their lead in the 6th, when my darling Russell Martin crushed a ball for a 3-run homer. I screamed.

“AWWW!!!!! OH MY GOD RUSSELL!!!!!!!!!”

Then my brother Bobby came in to see what all the commotion was,

“Home run?”

“YEAH! He’s so cute!”

“You should be used to this by now,” he said.

“Ha, I know, I know…”

6-0 Yankees. The 7th is when CC allowed that 3-run shot to Jones, so then it was 6-3. But yeah…my boys weren’t worried.

The 7th inning was incredibly fun. Before that, although having screamed once, I felt fine. Maybe I went too far here…

Robinson Cano led off with a single, and then Jorge Posada hit a 2-run homer, followed by some more fangirl shrieks by me.

The replay showed that the ball hit Russell Martin right above the #55 on his back, directly below his neck. I think I was in more pain than he was. Omg he was so sexy. After getting hit, Martin turned around, glared right at the nobody-pitcher, and spit out of the side of his mouth. It doesn’t sound sexy the way I’m describing it – but trust me, it was.

Russell stayed calm, and made his way down to first, while his sweet teammates were livid in the dugout, and emotionally I was a mess. I knew it was intentional and so did everyone else. But you just don’t do that. That ball was dangerously close to his head. There’s up and in, then there is UP and IN. The later is not good baseball.

After the game, Martin said this, “Actually, I had a knot in my back and it kinda worked it out. So he actual
ly did me a favor by hitting it. So thank you, appreciate it” (Smiles at camera, walks away).

That smile really set me off. But back to that 8th inning…

So as I’m sitting there raging, heart pounding, wanted to either jump inside the screen and caress Russell Martin or just throw my shoe at it, Brett Gardner stepped up to the plate. “Oh great…Gardner,” I thought, but I was too out of breath to say anything.

To EVERYONE’S surprise, Brett Gardner, I repeat BRETT GARDNER, went deep with a 2-run home run. It looked good off the bat, and when I saw it clear the fence, I used the last of my scream,

Really it went on a lot longer, at full volume, but you get the point.

So my boys, the good guys, won 15-3. It was the most exciting/rewarding/most entertaining game I’ve seen all year, and it just made me love my boys even more. It’s like, we’re in this together you know? They were enraged after Martin got hit, and I was too. And when Gardner hit that home run, everything was okay, and we were all relieved together.

It’s games like this one that remind me how much I love my Yankees. They could’ve responded to the Orioles classless behavior in a classless way, but no – they’re the Yankees. So what do they do? They WIN. As Brett Gardner rounded the bases, it was apparent to everyone in the ballpark and those watching at home that the Yankees won this little battle.

If only I could be a fine lady like the Yankees are fine gentlemen. They controlled themselves, I didn’t hear any expletives from their precious lips. Oh well…I was caught up in the moment. I just can’t control myself when it comes to these guys.

Yankees, I’d like to believe that even if I’m not the ideal lady, I’m the ideal fan.

I’m going to be honest here: coming into this series against the Texas Rangers, I wouldn’t have thought it would have turned out the way it did. I still had memories of last year’s ALCS, (see post here for the many silly reasons why I hate them http://southernbelle.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/10/why-i-hate-the-texas-rangers.html), and I was just worried the Yankees would remember it, too. And after they lost a tough game in Game 1, I feared the worst.

Ivan Nova was extremely wild in his Game 1 start. Russell Martin wore himself out behind the plate, and I knew he would have Game 2 off.

“Oh great,” I thought. “Now we have GUSTAVO MOLINA AND HIS CAREER .122 BATTING AVERAGE catching FREDDY GARCIA…Really? How are we supposed to win?”

Well, they must have heard me. The battery of Freddy Garcia and Gustavo Molina in Game 2 proved to be surprisingly dominant. Freddy pitched 6 2-hit shutout innings against the best lineup in the AL aside from that of my Yankees.

I was beyond impressed, considering the situation: it was Garcia’s first start of the season, since his other ones were skipped over or rained out. And he was doing it on an icky rainy day – against the Rangers. So yeah, the pressure was on. He really proved me wrong.

On the strength of 2-run homers by Teixeira and Cano, and solid pitching, the Yanks took Game 2 by the score of 5-2.

The rubber game was a fun one, though I didn’t see the whole thing because I am addicted to the Celebrity Apprentice.

They played on ESPN, and the announcers were really pissing me off. At this point in the game, the Yanks were behind. And the announcers were going on and on, saying:

“Well, you know the Rangers have just come right in here, and they don’t even let the mystique of the Yankees bother them. They are beyond that.”

“They have completely overmatched the Yankees, like last year in the ALCS.”

“Oh, Beltre and Young have just torn the covers off the balls this series.”

“Oh, the Rangers!”

Jesus. Sounded like Chris Matthews talking about Obama.

I was BEYOND offended when they mentioned the “lack” of mystique. I mean really?

It got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore,

“JESUS GOD ALMIGHTY! What is wrong with these guys? And I thought Miller and Morgan were bad announcers…how could they say such things?!”

“Shhh…relax,” said my Mother, “Let them keep singing praises about the Rangers, then watch the Yanks go ahead.”

Oh, Mommy. Mommy knows best!

It took them awhile, but the Yankees DID come back and hold the lead. My sweet Eric Chavez drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th, (I changed the channel back just in time to see it) and Mariano nailed down the save for the 6-5 Yankee win.

I wound up staying up until midnight because I was dying to see Eric Chavez be interviewed. It was worth the wait….my GOD he is hot. I think right now Eric Chavez is the hottest player on the Yankees. Like, looks wise. And he’s pretty hot with that bat of his as well😉

It’s too early in the season for this, and I have too much homework to not be doing, but I’m too frustrated so I need to vent.

Before I go completely insane, I should recap the game for those of you who were lucky enough to NOT see it. The first 7 innings were actually pretty entertaining. But from the 8th on, it was hard to watch.

CC Sabathia got the start last night in order to keep him on regular rest. My not-as-chunky-but-still-Hefty-Lefty tossed a fabulous game. He’s a God. Sabathia went 7 innings and allowed just 2 hits early in the ballgame.

Sabathia finished his night with a 4-0 lead, thanks to a 3-run BOMB by Teixeira and a solo welcome-to-the-Bronx home run from the smiley Andruw Jones. One of the highlights of my night last night was watching Andruw Jones try to catch a ball that ultimately went foul. The ball went directly into a fan’s meal, and sent it plummeting onto the field – right on Jones. It was amazing.

And of course after this, Jones never stopped smiling.

Anyways, Sabathia left the game having thrown 104 pitches. Not too many, but for this early in the season, it made sense to take him out.

But it didnt make any sense to me to put Rafael Soriano in. Note: I felt this way BEFORE he blew it.

First of all, Soriano has worked a respectable amound lately. Since the Yanks had a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead and the Twins bats were dead, I didn’t think there was a need to use the setup guy. He could have had the night off, and they could have started the 8th with David Robertson or someone. But no.

Another reason why I didn’t want Soriano in the game last night, is because it seems that whenever closers or guys with closer-like stuff and a closer-like mentality (Soriano) always SUCK when the team has a rather-large lead. Even the best guys, like Mariano Rivera, have experienced the non-save situation struggles. And when we all know that Girardi is a “master” at conserving and managing his bullpen guys, I just didn’t understand why in the world he decided to use Soriano last night, and why he let him suffer through that horrible inning.

Soriano wound up loading the bases with 1 out in the 8th. It was apparent after he faced the first batter that he had absolutely NO command, but Girardi didn’t do anything. Soriano walked in a run, and ultimately destroyed the Yankees’s chance of winning by giving away their 4-0 lead. Although he didn’t get the loss (they lost 5-4 in 10 innings), it was over after he blew it.

I don’t blame the bullpen for this loss. It’s not Rafael Soriano’s fault. He is an amazing pitcher when he’s doing his thing. But last night, he WASN’T doing his thing. He’s supposed to come in when the game is tight, not fold under the pressure, and get the guys out. Last night was not that situation, and I’m not mad at HIM for struggling…I’m just mad he struggled.

Joe Girardi is who I want to strangle. He said that if he could do it again, he’d to it the same way. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM? I mean is it me? It makes sense if you saw the game…the Twin offense was completely dead. That 4-0 lead seemed like 100-0. There was no need to use Soriano last night. I still believe that the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball. This game doesn’t make me lose confidence in Soriano at all.

Joe Girardi…what are we going to do with you…

And tonight! I was already mad at Girardi tonight. He planned on sitting Derek Jeter, Russell Martin, AND Jorge Posada tonight. He wanted A-Rod to DH, and he was going to use Eduardo Nunez at short, Eric Chavez at third, and GUSTAVO MOLINA AND HIS SPRING BATTING AVERAGE OF .067 behind the plate. Wow. And with 5th starter Freddy Garcia on the mound. I mean really? Isn’t the idea, like, to win the game? Why would he sit half his team all in one game?

I don’t know…sometimes I think Girardi TRIES to lose. Some of his decisions are crazy.

Hey, Joe! Stop trying to lose! No need to throw games away…Maybe you’re trying to make things exciting and dramatic, trying to make the season come down to the wire, trying to keep Yankees fans on their feet.

NO NEED!

The AL East is hard enough, just let my Yanks do the drama on their own.

As much as I wanted to see the game tonight to try and get my mind off the horrible loss, I’m almost glad they didn’t play tonight. With that lineup, things didn’t look too good anyway. Now EVERYONE gets the night off.

The day I had waited for for what seemed an eternity finally arrived on Thursday: Yankees Opening Day! I didn’t know what to expect, so I went into the day with no expectations. Sure, I didn’t want to admit it, but I was worried about them facing Verlander in the Opener. I was worried about certain guys getting off to a good start. And I was worried about the weather.

And most importantly, I was worried about missing the majority of the game because of school.

Being the nerd I am, I had to stay after school Thursday for a meeting with the Superindenent that I could not skip. “Aw jeez,” I thought. “That’s an extra hour of the game I”ll miss. I hope my boys do alright.”

When the 3:00 bell rang, I fled the school as fast as I could.

“How’re they doin?” was the first thing I asked my Dad on the way home.

“Tied 3-3.” he said.

“How’s CC?”

“Doing alright, not his best.”

“Who tied it up? Like, were the Yanks winning and did they blow the lead, or what?” I nervously questioned.

“They were down 1-0, Teixeira hit a 3-run hom-

“MAAAAAAAAARRKK!!!!!” I couldn’t hlep myself. I was just so stunned that Teixeira did something big in game 1. It was his first Opening Day hit with the Yanks.

“Then the Tigers came back,” my Dad finished, not the least bit startled by my exclamation. He’s used to that.

Once we got home, it was the top of the 7th, and Sabathia had been relieved by Joba Chamberlain. CC’s line was pretty good: 6 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts on 106 pitches.

I was impressed by Joba Chamberlain, who still had the icky hair, and who had a perfect 1-2-3 7th.

I was lucky to get home when I did. Bottom of the 7th, game tied 3-3, my cutie Curtis Granderson stepped up to the plate. All offseason long, my family and I discussed how we thought certain guys would perform. I said that I expected huge things from Curtis this year – I felt he’d reach the 40 home run plateau in 2011.

Sure enough, Curtis hit a monster home run into the 2nd deck in right field to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead.

“OH MY GOD, CURTIS!!!! AWWW!!!! WE’RE WINNING!!!!”

Way to make me look good, Curtis!

From there on, the Yanks never looked back. They tacked on 2 more runs via a Derek Jeter sac fly and a Nick Swisher RBI single. The bullpen was perfect: Rafael Soriano and his #29 jersey impressed me with a 1-2-3 8th, and Mo was Mo looking good with high socks and a 1-2-3 9th.

Yankees win game 1 by the score of 6-3.

They couldn’t have played better. The Heroes for the Opening Day win are Mark Teixeira for his big blast, Curtis Granderson, for his stellar defense and clutch homer, and the Yankee bullpen, for being perfect.

I was able to catch the entire game 2, a game where Burnett didn’t suck, and the Yankee offense exploded.

My boys got off to a 3-0 start in the first inning thanks to an RBI double by A-Rod (who WILL be MVP this year), an RBI single by Cano, and a sac fly by Swish.

The longball was key for the Yanks in game 2. Mark Teixeira DID IT AGAIN with a 3-run homer to give the Yanks a 6-0 lead. He’s on pace to hit 162 home runs this season! Keep it up, Mark!

Russell Martin surprised the heck out of me when he went deep for a 3-run shot in the 5th to give the boys a 9-3 lead. Honestly, I didn’t expect much from Martin. But in the first two games, he has impressed me. I didn’t expect him to steal bases, and he’s done that already. And he filled the home run column. I think he’s going to be the best #9 hitter in baseball.

The Yankees added on another run in the 6th with an Alex Rodriguez home run. He’s a beast.

A.J. Burnett was decent through 5 innings. He looked good over the first 4, but ran into a little trouble in the 5th. He managed to escape with minimal damage. Burnett allowed 3 runs over 5 innings and struckout 6. He was relieved by David Robertson who had a scoreless 6th. Luis Ayala, who I thought was pretty mediocre in Spring Training, gave up 2 runs. Boone Logan saw a little action, and Mariano Rivera closed out the game for his 2nd save of the season.

The Heroes for the Victory here are the homer boys: Teixeira, Martin, and A-Rod.

It’s such a beautiful thing…the Yankees are 2-0 this year, and the “best team in baseball,” the Boston Red Sox, are 0-2. One of their star-offseason acquisitions, Carl Crawford, has not gotten a hit yet. And their pitching has been dreadful so far.

Ahh I don’t even know where to begin. Once the clock struck one and I had the YES Network on, I felt right at home. That offseason that was so long felt like a thing of the past. That’s because it is! Ha! I still can’t believe it. I watched the Yankees today. And it wasn’t a Yankees Classic that I had seen a thousand times. It was LIVE ACTION! And boy, was it fun.

The opening ceremonies were lovely, the field was gorgeous, and Haley Swindal’s rendition of our national anthem was amazing. Christina Aguilara WHO? Before I knew it, the game was underway. Hearing Michael Kay and Ken Singleton’s voices made me shiver with excitement. Then I knew baseball was back. The Yankee announcers are as much a part of my family as the players are, and it felt great to hear them again.

I was so excited for the game to be underway that I forgot about the starting pitching situation. Then I remembered when I saw Bartolo Colon jog out onto the mound. I decided to be fair and not judge the guy – I mean it was his first time pitching for the Yanks, I didn’t need to hate on him just yet. I thought, “Okay, I’m not judging this guy. Maybe he really can be good and help my team.”

I tried. But as I focused on his jiggly belly, triple-chin, and heard he’s 5’10” 260 lbs, I couldn’t help but to exclaim, “WHY DID THEY GET THIS GUY? HE’S NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO PITCH!”

I even thought of a perfect lookalike for Colon:

They’re twins.

To be honest, I didn’t hate Bartolo Colon today. He may have been on the chubby side, but that’s okay – the Yankee pinstripes have a knack for making even the most homely look hotter. And today, Colon didn’t look as ugly as I had expected. In his two innings of work, Colon allowed just a run on two hits. But he did look pretty good. He’s no ace, but he proved to me today he knows what he’s doing. He CAN pitch. And for a fourth or fifth starter, he looks like he’d be fine.

Over at FanVsFan, another site I write for, my buddy Eric and I made a bet surrounding Joba Chamberlain. Eric thinks he will be good, and I think he’ll have another disappointing season. Naturally, I looked forward to seeing Joba’s outing today. He said he gained weight, but it didn’t look like Bartolo Colon weight – it looked solid. And his stuff looked as solid as I’ve seen it in awhile. Joba tossed a scoreless inning. You proved me wrong so far, Joba. Now just perform like that for the majority of the next 8 months or so, and I’ll make my apology official.

Another highlight of my afternoon was getting to see my darling sweet Francisco Cervelli behind and at the plate. I still have to get used to his new number, 17, and try to get over the fact that my precious shirt is outdated.

I didn’t have to be too sad for too long. My Cervelli looked as cute as ever today. And when he drove in the first Yankee run with his sharp double down the line, my customary Cervelli shrieks and smiles filled the room.

I also enjoyed seeing Mark Teixeira, who is known for his slow starts, crush a ball for an RBI triple. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Teix.

Everyone who knows me knows I go absolutely bananas for rookies. I just adore them. When I hear people go, “Oh I hate Spring Training games…the regulars play like 2 innings, then it’s just a bunch of nobodies,” I am dumbfounded. I look forward to seeing the cute new guys every year.

Today I saw a bunch of cuties pitchers including David Phelps (#87), Hector Noesi (#74), Eric Wordekemper (#89), and Luis Ayala (#43). I was very impressed by fist baseman Jorge Vazquez. I remembered that name from last year’s Spring Training. I knew he was a big guy with a funny (in a cute way) looking face. And today, I got to see him shine. Vazquez went 2-3, with a MONSTER 2-run homer, and a single.

Another newbie who really impressed me today was Justin Maxwell, whom the Yanks acquired in a trade with the Nationals earlier in the offseason. He may be my rookie-of-choice this Spring. First of all, he’s kinda cute. He’s 6’5”, and can run. And to me, on the baseball field speed is just as, if not MORE sexy, than home runs. Maxwell made a lovely play in the field to end the 7th inning, and he singled in the 9th. I hope he does well. The Yanks have a few spots open on their bench, and I think Maxwell would be a nice fit.

Mmmm…Justin Maxwell lookin’ mighty fine…

This game was so much fun that I didn’t even realize or CARE that my Yankees lost. It’s Spring Training. It’s fun. Would I have liked for them to win? Of course, but I don’t want to be too picky.

Heck, to be honest, one of my favorite parts of this game was the sight of grass. I haven’t seen that stuff in awhile.

Oh, Sam the Snowman…and my favorite Christmas movie. Since baseball is over, I guess it’s okay to start looking forward to the Holidays. I don’t really know what I want for Christmas this year.

The offseason has been relatively interesting so far. MLB Network’s “Hot Stove” has been filled with news about the Gold Glovers, the Silver Sluggers, and of course, Cliff Lee.

I’d like to congratulate the three Yankees who won awards so far this year.

Congrats to Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano on receiving Gold Gloves at short, first, and second! A-Rod should’ve won, too, but I guess that would have seemed unfair. I’m proud to say that my Yankees have the BEST infield in all of baseball.

Robbie Cano didn’t stop at the Gold Glove. He ALSO received a Silver Slugger Award!

Congrats, Robbie! Put both those beauties on your Christmas Tree this year and make Sam the Snowman proud.

Speaking of Christmas Trees, I actually do know what I want under it…

-He says he doesn’t like the heat, so he might not want to stay in Texas.

-Texas says they might get Victor Martinez as an incentive for Lee to return to them.

-Cliff Lee’s stupid wife claims that she hates New York.

-Ryan Zimmerman said he’d give Lee some of his salary to bring him to Washington (lol).

-Brian Cashman is God.

Jeez this is really stressful. I’ve been a good girl all year long…and all I want for Christmas is Cliff Lee. Oh, Santa, Brian Cashman, is this so hard to accomplish?

These rumors are killing me. Cashman, just show him the money. I’m tired of waiting!

Well, it wasn’t as good as last season…that’s for sure. As I watched the ALCS unfold, I saw what was going on, and I accepted it. But looking back now, I’m just so confused. I have so many questions, and I don’t know the answers. But what keeps lingering in my mind is: What happened to the Yankees? What went wrong?

Too many things. And not enough went right.

-The Long Layoff

Now I’m not trying to make “excuses” to why the Yankees lost, but let’s be realistic here. The Yankees had to wait an eternity for the Rangers and Rays to close things out. They beat the Twins so quickly that they were just sitting around. Of course they were still hyped up, but they lost some of their momentum – but more importantly, they lost their rhythm. Remember how in the ALDS it seemed like everyone was contributing to the success? Well, that didn’t happen this time. The only guys who really did well were Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano. And I pat them on the back for a job well done.

Unfortunately, their contributions were not enough. The Yankee pitching was ATROCIOUS in this series. Could it have been due to the rest factor? Maybe.

-Mark Teixeira’s Hammy

The Yankees were already down in the series and were struggling offensively. So when their star slugger Mark Teixeira destroyed his hamstring while hustling out a grounder, the entire team was hurt. You could just see it. No one was going to admit it, but it’s obvious: they probably thought they were screwed withough Teix – especially because the offense was pretty dead already.

-Joe Girardi

Don’t get me started. I like Girardi, but as I’ve said before, I just don’t understand him sometimes. This was especially true in ALCS game 6 – the Yankees final game. Intentionally walking Josh Hamilton once to get to Vlad Guerrerro was enough. He’s lucky he got away with that move. But by having Phil Hughes do that AGAIN, Girardi was almost asking for trouble. My Grandma and I said that to each other as soon as we saw Joe wiggle the 4 fingers. We knew it would blow up in his face even before Guerrerro got the hit. And we were right. Then he put in David Robertson who, wo put it nicely, hasn’t seen much success this postseason, and he let the game get away from the Yankees. From then on, the Yankees had terrible at-bats, and you could just see it in their eyes: they knew they were going home.

As for me, of course I am devastated. I love my Yankees more than anything, and I want to be able to watch them for as long as possible, Sadly, it ended too early this year. But that’s selfish. I really feel bad for the YANKEES. They wanted to win this so badly, but they just didn’t play well. They really embarrassed themselves. I feel so bad for my boys. They shouldn’t have lost…they deserved to win. But they didn’t play like they deserved it.

I guess I should give credit to the Rangers. I mean they did beat my boys. They really made my Yankees look bad. But really – the Yankees made themselves look bad, too. They helped them out a bit. And a good team like the Rangers capitalizes off another team’s mistakes. That’s exactly what happened. Sure, the Rangers are having their best season. They are a very good team. Maybe they do deserve to win.

Of course I will never admit that. The Yankees have been through so much this season. I think the Yankees should have won it all this season just as a tribute to the Great George Steinbrenner. It’s kind of unfair that they didn’t, but again – it was their fault they lost.

And who says life is fair, anyway? Maybe the best team doesn’t always win.

But the great thing about life is that you can always try to redeem yourself. More often than not, you get another chance in life.

And for my Yankees, this other chance begins on March 31, 2011.

That’s when the Quest for 28 begins again.

Yankees, I’d like to thank you for this exciting 2010. Just because it didn’t end they way we planned doesn’t mean we have to just forget it. You had a great season. I know you are the best team…you just didn’t win when it counted. I still love you ♥

Remember in my last post when I said the Yankees were reminding me of the Yankees from last year? Well, last night, this statement proved to be even more true. The most apparent reason was because last night my Yankees wrapped up their 3-game sweep of the Twins to win the ALDS – just like last year. But more importantly, the Yankee have established an amazing 1-2-3 punch, which is Powerful at the beginning, Crafty in the middle, and Philthy at the end.

Pitching Analysis: Phil Hughes is the “Philthy” component of the 1-2-3 punch, in case you didn’t get my analogy. And BOY was he philthy last night. I didn’t know what he was going to give us, having not pitched since September 26, and starting in the postseason after struggling in postseason relief last year. Did I expect Hughes to throw 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 6 along the way? I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. Hughes was a beast.

Huuuuuuuuughes!!!!!!!!

If the starting pitching in this ALDS is a sign of things to come for my Yankees, then I think the team is in pretty darn good shape. Their chance of a repeat is within striking distance. The combo of CC, Andy, and Phil reminds me of the CC, A.J., and Andy the Yankees used last year. And when you can compare anything, especially pitching, to the 2009 Yankees, you definitely have reason to smile. Eeeeek!! I’m excited!

Offensive Analysis: JUST like last year, the Yankee offense got to Brian Duensing. I felt kind of bad for the kid…his family was in the audience, and he received the loss. The look on his face as he sat there, all dejected on the bench after being taken out almost broke my heart. The poor guy looked like he was going to cry. But really, it was not his fault that the Yankees won. Sometimes, you gotta give credit where credit is due. The Yankees are a pretty good baseball team.

The offense started in the 2nd inning, where Robinson Cano led off with a triple. He scored on an RBI single by Jorge Posada. In the 3rd, Nick Swisher doubled with 2 out, and Mark Teixeira drove him in with an RBI single. That was a bullet of a single…it hit off the wall too hard and too fast for Mark to advance. But that’s okay. The Yankees were up 2-0.

Tex’s big swing!

In the 4th with Cano on first, Marcus Thames took his turn. He did what he always does, only different: Thames homered, but it was to right field. Thames went oppo! And the Yankees led 4-0. I think that was the swing that ended Minnesota’s season. Minnesota was done…but the Yankee bats weren’t. Brett Gardner tacked on a run with a sac fly, and Nick Swisher homered in the 7th. The Yankees were up 6-0. They went on to win it 6-1.

Thames’s reaction to his homer.

Swish’s smiley reaction to his homer.

Aww

The Heroes for this ALDS-Winning Victory are Phil Hughes, for proving that he can start in the postseason and for solidifying the Yankees 1-2-3 punch, and Marcus Thames for providing what was in essence the winning blow.

The Somebody Needs a Hug goes to….hmm…..I guess the Twins. They got swept…again. But I really shouldn’t be feeling bad for them, I mean the Yankees HAD to beat them. Forgive me for having a heart.

Okay the REAL Somebody Needs a Hug goes to Mick Kelleher. The poor guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time…in the 4th inning, on Robinson Cano’s infield single, the Twins threw the bald wildly…and it hit Mick…yeah…no guy wants this…

Ouch…

I leave you now with some HAPPY images of my Yankees celebrating with the bubbly after their win. 3 wins down, 8 wins to go.

A-Rod gets double-teamed. Look all the way on the right…see that cutie with the goggles? CERVELLI!!! Hi sweetie!

OMG Curtis! Look at him…such an innocent little boy. You are my MVP of the ALDS, with that .455 batting average. Keep up the good baseball, darling!

The next time the Yankees play is on Friday. That’s a long time…I’m going to miss them. I hope they rest up, but stay hot at the same time. From here on, it only gets harder. But I’m ready!

I’m going to be honest: I didn’t expect my Yankees to be up 2 games to none after the first two games against the Twins at Target Field, for a number of reasons: 1) The Twins had the best record at home, even better than my Yanks. 2) The Yankees had to face a tough lefty in Francisco Liriano in game 1, after losing their last 9 games against lefty starters. 3) I didn’t know what the Yankee starters would give, since CC was on extra rest and Andy had iffy starts after his injury. Add all that together, as well as adding the fact that the Yankees were horrible down the stretch, and the thought of elimination in the first round wasn’t too crazy. But after these first two games, I am confident in my Yankees’s ability to move on to the next round. They have proven to me that te regular season did not matter: the postseason is a brand new season, and they are going to make the most of it – just like last year.

I was worried in game 1, because CC Sabathia was not sharp, and the Yankee offense struggled mightily against Francisco Liriano – up until the 6th inning, that is. Down 3-0, with 1 out, Mark Teixeira doubled and Alex Rodriguez walked. Robinson Cano drove in Teixeira with an RBI single, and FINALLY, my Yankees were on the board. My family and I were starting to get excited.

Then it was Jorge Posada’s turn, and he delivered with an RBI single to score A-Rod, which made it 3-2. Out of her excitement, my Grandma, once again butchered a Yankee’s name. After Jorge singled, she yelled. “OOH NOW IT’S 3-2!!!! A SINGLE!!! A-ROD SCORED!!! OOH SAPADO!!!!”

You can guess what happened next.

My entire family broke into hysterics, and so did Grandma, once she realized we were laughing at her. She did her typical laugh: hands over heart, hysterical, laughing so hard we couldn’t even hear her. It was that silent laughter, the kind that happens when something is just SO funny. Through the laughs, she said, “Ooh POSADA!!!!” Yes, Grandma…POSADA…not SAPODO. He’s been on the team for how long now? But that doesn’t matter…she butchers everyone’s name. For more info, check out this post dedicated to my Grandma and her…interesting names for the Yankees: http://southernbelle.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/08/grandma-makes-me-laugh.html

LOL, good job Sapodo!!!

Anyway, the Yankees had inched closer, and everyone now believed they could win.

My sweet Curtis Granderson delivered witn a clutch 2-run triple to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead. It was so clutch, I screamed for like an hour. My throat still kind of hurts.

CURTIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ♥♥♥

After taking the lead in te 6th, my Yankees never looked back. Actually that’s not true: CC Sabathia walked in a run in the 6th, tying up the game at 4. But no biggy: Mark Teixeira added the final blow with his 2-run homer in the 6th, making it a 6-4 Yankee lead. The bullpen closed it out, and my Yanks came back to win the first game of this ALDS 6-4.

MAAAARK TEX!!!!!!!!!

Game 1 was so stressful. After the game I was so exhausted. I said to Grandma, “Thank GOD we won.”

She said, “Yeah. But it’s only the first game!”

True. If game 1 of the ALDS was so intense, what would the rest of the postseason be like? It was only just the beginning!

I was stressed out before game 2, because I had no idea what Andy Pettitte would do. My Dad said, “Don’t worry about Andy…He’s ANDY. He’ll give it his all and pitch a hell of a game just like he always does.”

Aw, Andy….you are such a cutie ♥

Well, Daddy was right, just like always. Andy did pitch a gem: 7 innings of 2-run ball, and just 88 pitches. And he received offensive support from his buddy Lance Berkman. I was hoping that Lance would do big things in the postseason, since Andy cracked him up to be a postseason clutch machine. He did. Game 2 was Lance’s Yankee moment. He drove in 2 of their 5 runs, with a monster opposite-field home run, and an RBI double the other way. Thank you, Lance!

FAT ELVIS HAS LEFT THE YARD!!!! Damn…he looks kinda sexy with high socks…♥

The Heroes for these ALDS Victories are my cutie-Curtis Granderson, for his extreme clutchness, Lance Berkman, for the same reason, and Andy Pettitte, for doing what he always does. Now the Yankees head back home to the Bronx, where they look for some of that good old Yankee Stadium Magic to spark them to another victory.

The Somebody Needs a Hug goes to…..the Twins! I want them to lose, don’t get me wrong, but I kind of pity them. They ALWAYS lose to the Yankees…it must be haunting their minds. Oh well…it’s really not my problem. And let’s be fair: It really ain’t over till it’s over.

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